<h2>Name</h2>
<p>
The Surah takes its name from the phrase <em>wad-in-naml</em> which occurs in
verse 18, implying that it is a Surah in which the story of An-Naml
(the Ant) has been related.
</p>
<h2>Period of Revelation</h2>
<p>
The subject matter and the style bear full resemblance with the Surahs
of the middle Makkan period and this is supported by traditions as
well. According to Ibn Abbas and Jabir bin Zaid, "First the Surah
Ash-Shu`araa' was sent down, then the Surah An Naml and then Al-Qasas."
</p>
<h2>Theme and Topics</h2>
<p>
The Surah consists of two discourses, the first from the beginning of
the Surah to the end of verse 58, and the second from verse 59 to the
end of the Surah. 
</p>
<p>
The theme of the first discourse is that only those
people can benefit from the guidance of the Quran and become worthy of
the good promises made in it, who accept the realities which this Book
presents as the basic realities of the universe, and then follow up
their belief with obedience and submission in their practical lives as
well. But the greatest hindrance for man to follow this way is the
denial of the Hereafter. For it makes him irresponsible, selfish and
given to worldly life, which in turn makes it impossible for him to
submit himself before God and to accept the moral restrictions on his
lusts and desires. After this introduction three types of character
have been presented. 
</p>
<p>
The first type is characterized by Pharaoh and
the chiefs of Thamud and the rebels of the people of Lot, who were all
heedless of the accountability of the Hereafter and had consequently
become the slaves of the world. These people did not believe even
after seeing the miracles. Rather they turned against those who
invited them to goodness and piety. They persisted in their evil ways
which are held in abhorrence by every sensible person. They did not
heed the admonition even until a moment before they were overtaken by
the scourge of Allah. 
</p>
<p>
The second type of character is of the Prophet
Solomon (peace be upon him), who had been blessed by God with wealth
and kingdom and grandeur to an extent undreamt of by the chiefs of the
disbelievers of Makkah. But, since he regarded himself as answerable
before God and had the feeling that whatever he had was only due to
Allah's bounty, he had adopted the attitude of obedience before Him
and there was no tinge of vanity in his character. 
</>
<p>
The third type is
of the queen of Sheba, who ruled over a most wealthy and well known
people in the history of Arabia. She possessed all those means of life,
which could cause a person to become vain and conceited. Her wealth
and possessions far exceeded the wealth and possessions of the
Quraish. Then she professed <em>shirk</em>, which was not only an ancestral way
of life with her, but she had to follow it in order to maintain her
position as a ruler. Therefore, it was much more difficult for her to
give up <em>shirk</em> and adopt the way of <em>Tauhid</em> than it could be for a common
<em>mushrik</em>. But when the Truth became evident to her, nothing could stop
her from accepting it. Her deviation was, in fact, due to her being
born and brought up in a polytheistic environment and not because of
her being a slave to her lusts and desires. Her conscience was not
devoid of the sense of accountability before God. 
</p>
<p>
In the second
discourse, at the outset, attention has been drawn to some of the most
glaring and visible realities of the universe, and the disbelievers of
Makkah have been asked one question after the other to the effect :
"Do these realities testify to the creed of <em>shirk</em> which you are
following, or to the truth of <em>Tauhid</em> to which the Qur'an invites you?"
After this the real malady of the disbelievers has been pointed out,
saying, "The thing which has blinded them and made them insensitive to
every glaring reality is their denial of the Hereafter. This same
thing has rendered every matter and affair of life non-serious for
them. For, when according to them, everything has to become dust
ultimately, and the whole struggle of life is purposeless and without
an object before it, the truth and falsehood are equal and alike.
Therefore, the question whether one's system of life is based on the
right or wrong foundations, becomes meaningless for him." 
</p>
<p>
But the
discourse, as outlined above, is not meant to dissuade the Prophet and
the Muslims from calling the obdurate and heedless people to the way
of <em>Tauhid</em>; it is, in fact, intended to arouse them from their slumber.
That is why in vv. 67-93 certain things have been said repeatedly in
order to produce in the people a sense of the Hereafter, to warn them
of the consequences of being heedless of it, and to convince them of
its coining, like an eye witness of something, who convinces the other
person of it, who has not seen it. 
</p>
<p>
In conclusion, the real invitation
of the Quran that is, the invitation to serve One Allah alone, has
been presented in a concise but forceful manner, and the people warned
that accepting it would be to their own advantage and rejecting it to
their own disadvantage. For if they deferred their faith until they
saw those Signs of God after the appearance of which they would be
left with no choice but to believe and submit, they should bear in
mind the fact that that would be the time of judgment and believing
then would be of no avail.
</p>

